Healthcare

The Greater Fort Smith Region is a regional medical center with dedicated facilities for heart disease, cancer treatment and prevention, leading-edge computerized and magnetic imaging, and even plastic surgery.

With such a complete medical community, it should come as no surprise that the Greater Fort Smith Region is a diagnostic center for a multi-state area, as our hospitals and clinics offer the latest in medical technology and procedures.

Two major medical centers are located in Fort Smith and a third acute care hospital is located across the river in Van Buren. Sparks and St. Edward Mercy in Fort Smith strive for disease prevention and health maintenance by offering full-service fitness programs at each facility. Together, these facilities provide more than 1,000 inpatient beds and state-of-the-art diagnostic technology. More than 400,000 residents in a two-state area have access to specialized heart, cancer treatment and ambulatory surgery centers, in addition to rehabilitation, psychiatric and long-term care facilities.

Sparks recently cut the ribbon on a $40.4 million Renaissance Building that includes the Boreham Emergency Center, an all-digital Medical Imaging Department adjacent to the Emergency Center, as well as a leading-edge Cardiovascular Catheterization Laboratory complete with two Cardiac Catheterization Labs. The second floor features a new Intensive Care Unit with 24 rooms designed to offer the latest technology and comfort for patients. The building also has more than 44,000 square feet of shell space for future inpatient and outpatient surgical suites.

Fort Smith also boasts Cooper Clinic – the largest physician-owned multi-specialty group in Arkansas. Founded in 1920, the clinic has more than 200 doctors with 25 specialties and sub-specialties to serve the Greater Fort Smith Region.

Fort Smith is also home to the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) that trains up to eight doctors each year. These residents can choose between an obstetrician or a general family physician track and are trained in the cognitive and procedural skills needed to become a first-class doctor. AHEC’s family medical center is a modern, 21,000-square-foot facility with 16 exam rooms in a three-team area. The clinic averages 2,000 patients a month.

The University of Arkansas - Fort Smith also graduates hundreds of health providers in the region each year and offers numerous medical programs and degrees, including dental hygiene, nursing, nursing technology, radiography, respiratory care and surgical technology. The dental hygiene program has maintained a 100 percent pass rate on all board examinations since the beginning of the program, and according to scores from the American Dental Association, UA Fort Smith students typically score more than 3 points above the national average on exams.

The medical establishments in the region offer a complete support system of specialty programs that allow physicians to achieve the best possible outcome for their patients. With five hospitals in the Greater Fort Smith Region, a 200-plus doctor clinic and four other health agencies, our residents are afforded some of the best healthcare in the nation.

Fort Smith cares for children with special needs at a new neonatal ICU; Bost, Inc.; and the Gregory Kistler Treatment Center that hopes to provide an opportunity for all children to lead full, productive lives with the assistance of occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language therapy. The Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House offers education, encouragement and hope to those undergoing cancer treatment in the Greater Fort Smith Region.

Healthcare is big business for the Greater Fort Smith Region, accounting for more than 20,000 jobs in the area. Golden Living – which operates hundreds of living centers and living communities that provide quality nursing and rehab care to more than 30,000 patients each year – houses its corporate headquarters in Fort Smith. Numerous medical facilities are top employers in the region, including the Area Agency on Aging, Bost, Cooper Clinic, St. Edward Mercy, and Sparks Health System that employs more than 2,000 individuals.

The Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce is also involved with the medical community through its Health Care Council. Comprised of representatives from the Chamber, the city of Fort Smith, the university, area hospitals and community leadership, the council meets regularly to discuss and develop programs that will grow and enhance healthcare in the region. The council hosts its annual New Physicians Reception each August to welcome physicians to the area and introduce them to community and medical leadership. The council is also involved in recruiting and retention efforts with area hospitals and with providing business help to physicians through the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. Currently, the council is working on providing more continuing education opportunities for area physicians.